This month I'm exploring ways to make myself look better while hoop dancing. I'm not talking about hair and makeup or costumes...although those are FUN...I'm talking about grace and lines.

​Over on my Facebook page I have a series of weekly posts rolling out this month where I pick one element for us to work on together. The challenge is to really focus on these during a song. You can add in a 2nd focus when you are ready - and if you are a total rock star then do all 5 at once...but I wanna see video of you! ;)

So here are my top 5 tips for improving your dance within your hoop:

Tip numero uno is POSTURE. Most of us are hunched over at our desks either for school or work. Our muscles get trained to support our bodies in this hunchback position...which is not cool at all. This translates to how we hold ourselves when we're not at the desk....and also how we dance with our hoops.I want to challenge us to become longer through our spines, shoulders back and down, and imagine a string attached to our head creating a taller you. Use these cues next time you are dancing with your hoop and see if you find a difference.

Next tip to improving your hoop dance is our GAZE. I do this so much...start playing with my hoop and I'm staring at something invisible on the floor. Why? I suppose I'm really focused. If you look at professional dancers...they are making eye contact with their audience, following the other dancers with their eyes and turning their head and using their gaze as part of their dance...we can do so much with our eyes! Let's start with taking them off the floor and bringing our gaze up to eye level. Pick a spot on the wall to aim for as you dance. See how strange it feels at first and soon it will become 2nd nature.

Number 3 is using our HANDS. I bring this up in almost all my classes - getting out of that frozen T Rex or kangaroo pose! This position the mark of a new hooper - we are so focused on keeping the hoop going we forget that our hands can be adding to our graceful dance. The best tutorial I love to come back to again and again is from Caroleeena's Circles of Joy and it's all about hands and arms. You can check it out here.

let your hands join in on the dance

discover freedom in your dance when these get unstuck

Next up is our FEET. When we start out on our hoop dance journey we are so focused on keeping the hoop up and going. In the classes I teach I get to see some amazing evolution within the dancers that come to hoop with me! I usually challenge everyone right off the top of the class to start ungluing our feet from the floor. Starting with some shifting weight, then taps to the side, then some compass turns and travelling. To make your dance evolve try these moves and discover the freedom in your movement once your feet are not planted in one spot. Eventually you can start pointing toes, dragging your toes, flexing your feet for a funky angle, making semi circles on the floor with your feet, skipping, jumping, and bringing in some other dance styles too! Oh! Can you say Salsa hooping!

Finally my last tip is TURNING. This has to be my number one way to smooth out my hoop tricks and camouflage any awkwardness in my dance. Turning in the same direction as the hoop gives me time to get the hoop or my body into the next position. It looks graceful, it feels fun and flowy, and it helps my transitions...bam...love it!

So next time you have your hoop and the tunes are pumping I want to challenge you to pick one or more of these to work on just for one song and see if you don't notice a different dance. I know there are lots of other tips for how to be a better hoop dancer - let's begin with these and if you have other tips leave me a comment!